Preview: Chargers transition to new era with talented, underclassman-heavy roster

The Hillsdale College baseball team enters the 2025 campaign this spring ready for a changing of the guard.

At the conclusion of the 2024 season, Hillsdale bid farewell to a massive senior class and 16 players in total, including three of the team’s four weekend starters and five every-day players in the field.

That departing production opens the door for a group of returning players to seize bigger roles, and for an exciting 15-player freshman class to make an early impact as the Chargers begin a new era.

While Hillsdale has big shoes to fill in its lineup in terms of offensive production, the cupboard is far from bare for the Chargers. Three of the team’s top six hitters return, led by sophomores Rocco Tenuta and Will Millard, who each hit above .280 with double-digit extra base hits as freshmen in 2024 and who will be mainstays for Hillsdale this season. The team’s best returning hitter overall might be senior Zak Kent, who seized a starting role in the outfield midway through 2024 and had the best batting average (.357), slugging percentage (.571) and on-base percentage (.423) among returners in 2024.

Along with those three, Hillsdale also brings back its starting shortstop and second baseman from last year in sophomores Aaron Jasiak and Tyler Turner, as well as another veteran infielder who got good playing time last season in Kaden Nowak. In the outfield, senior Augie Hutchison will get his shot to lock down a starting spot after three seasons playing behind veteran stars.

On the mound, Hillsdale brings back two players with significant starting experience in sophomore Daniel Higdon, who was one of the Chargers top pitchers before a late season injury, and senior Brandon Scott, who transitioned out of the bullpen late in the year and impressed in three starts. Sophomores Luke Miller, Hayden Hoffpauir, Jacob Pallo and Josh Novak all have year under their belt and will battle to lock down bigger roles this season.

The Chargers have options in the bullpen, including Jasiak, who excelled as a reliever on top of his hitting for Hillsdale last season, senior Andrew George and sophomore Logan McLaughlin, as well as pitchers from the group above who don’t land one of the four weekend starting jobs. The raw talent is there for Hillsdale to take a step forward as a staff, and that’s a key for the Chargers to have a successful 2025 – a 7.34 team ERA in 2024 was a major reason the team missed the G-MAC Tournament last season.

The X-factor for Hillsdale this season is that 15-player freshman class, one that’s full of talent and pedigree. While the lineup is still uncertain, it’s likely that multiple freshmen will end up starting in the field for the Chargers in 2025, and several of the six freshmen pitchers will see the field either in a starting or relief role. How much of an impact those freshmen can make could determine how successful of a season 2025 ends up being for Hillsdale.

The Chargers face a tough schedule in 2025 that includes 11 non-conference games against five teams that made the NCAA Tournament in 2024, including four contests against DII College World Series squads. In conference play, Ashland won the regular season title and will return as the favorite in 2025, while Northwood was close behind. Hillsdale will play four game series against both teams.

Hillsdale opens the season in Tennessee on Feb. 8 with a doubleheader against host Lee, part of a three-game series with the Flames. The Chargers’ first home contest will be a midweek game at 4 p.m. on March 12 against Saginaw Valley State, and Hillsdale’s first home conference contest will be a doubleheader against Thomas More at 1 p.m. on March 29. You can find the entire 2025 schedule here.